Rail-joint



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RAIL JOINT.

No. 878,575. PatentedFeb.A 28, 1888.

rrrniro HENRY F. COX, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

RAlL-JOIN'T.

SPECIFICATION forming part or' Letters Patent No. 37.575. dated February28, 18 8.

Application filed June 150, 1887. Serial No. 242,951.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY F. COX, of the city and county ofPhiladelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulImproved Rail-Joint, of which the following is a true and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,

Vwhich form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to the construction of the joint between twoabutting rails of a railway, and has for its object to make a firmer,smoother, and stronger joint than has heretofore been practicable; andmy invention consists in the combination of apeculiar {ish-plate, havingan upward convex curve of about onesixteenth (Tl) of an inch, with aclamp, by means of which the rail and iish-plates are held tightlytogether both vertically and horizontally. Reference being now had tothe drawings which illustrate niyinvention, Figure lis an elevation ofmy improved rail-joint, and Fig. 2 a cross-section thereof.

A A are the rails united by my improved 2 joint, the lateral projectionsof the head being marked a and the lateral projections'of the base beingmarked a.

B B are the ties.

C C are the fish-plates, made to iit between the flanges of the head andbase of the rail, and provided with a bottom iiange, c', projecting overand slightly beyond the top of the rail-base. The portion ofthefish-plate which fits beneath the top of the rail is marked c. Thesesh-plates are curved upward throughout their length, the rise in thecenter being about OnesiXteenth (Tg) of an inch.

c2 c2 are flanges or braces which I prefer to form upon the centralportion of the fishplates, where they serve to strengthen the plate andalso, as will hereinafter be described, to center the clamp.

D D are the bolts which secure the fishplates in place. The heads ofthese bolts are marked d, and the nut, as shown in Fig. 2, d.

E E are spikes which project over the edges e of the fish-plates andsecure them and the rails in line.

F is a clamp, preferably made in two pieces, as shown, and provided witha bolt, G, by which it is drawn up and made to grasp the rail. Theessential features of this clamp are (No model.)

that it shall have projecting jaws f2, which will pass over the top ofthe iiange c of the fish-plates, and that it shall have abottomsupporting surface or surfaces, ff, which rest against the bottomof the rail, and between which and the jaws f2 the Bauges c of therail-base and c of the fish-plates will be clamped tightly together. Iprefer to construct the two pieces constituting the clamp F withwedge-surfaces, as indicated at f', as I have found it, if soconstructed, to be more efficient than any others with which Iauffamiliar; but this wedging of the one -side of the clamp upon theother is not absolutely essential, and I do not wish to be understood aslimiting my claims upon any particular clamp. l g is the head of thebolt G, andg the nut.

The action of my improved rail-joint will be easily understood. Thecarnbered shplates C C are placed opposite to each other on each side ofthe rail, the bolts D inserted, and the fish-plates then secured inplace by means of the nuts d. In forcing the cambered {ish-plates intoplace the rails will be bowed slightly upward at their ends, followingclosely the curve of the fish-plate; but as this throws a very greatstrain upon the bolts D, and as, in case of the loosening of the nuts d,the effect of the camber upon the rail will disappear, I have found itadvisable to use a clamp, such as F, which, passing beneath the base ofthe rail, with jaws passing around and resting on top of the flanges cof the fish-plate, will, when tightened into place, force the ends ofthe rails upward against the concavelycurved central portion of the baseof the fishplates, thus coacting with andre-enforcing the bolts D andinsuring the upward curvature of the rail-joint under all conditionswhich are likely to occur in practice.

In the use of clamps similar to F it has heretofore been found necessaryto provide Vthem with one or more wedge-shaped projections which willenter a notch between the rails or in the edge of the fish-plate andprevent any lateral movement of the clamp. With my fish-plate, however,when provided with the 11e-enforcing ribs c2 c, the clamp may be placedwith its jaws f2 between these ribs, which will efiectually prevent theclamp from moving away from the center of the joint.

The cambered fish-plate shown and described IOO in this specificationforms the subject-matter of another application for Letters Patent ofthe United States filed by me on the 28th day of March, 1887, andbearing the seria] number 232,652, my present invention being animprovement upon the invention therein described.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In combination with the abutting ends of railway-rails, cainberedishplates C C, having iianges c extending over the top of the rail-base,a clamp, F, having jaws f2 resting upon the top of the iianges c', andsupporting-surfaces f resting against the bottom of the rail beneath thejaws f, and a bolt, G, whereby the clamp is drawn together and made tograsp and compress the base and the flanges c of the fish-platetogether, all subzo stantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. In combination with the abutting ends of railway-rails, camberedfish-plates G C, having flanges c extending over the top oftheraiI-base, and bracing-wings c2 c2, a clamp, F, z5 having jaws f2resting upon the top ofthe flanges c between the bracing-Wings c2 c?,supporting'surfaces f resting against the bottom of the rail beneath thejaws f 2, and a bolt, G, whereby the clamp is drawn together and 3o madeto grasp and compress the base and the flanges c of the fish-platetogether, ail substantiall y as and for the purpose specified.

HENRY F. COX.

Witnesses:

FRANK A. MULLIKIN, JOSHUA MATLACK, Jr.

